[zak]

Folks, First off I want to wish all of you a happy holiday season. I hope that you all get to relax a little if mother nature lets us.

I am wondering if any does anything other than snowplowing for winter work. We have been plowing now for two years and have done very well with it but hate the hours associated. Does anyone do anything else to make ends meet for there company.

Thanks for the support,

Chad

[cutntrim]

I can't see getting away from plowing, since I'm a maintenance contractor. My customers require the service. However, eventually I'd love to have it set up where I'm just a backup and my employees and subs do the routes. Doubt I'll be at that point anytime soon though...

[Nebraska]

When it was just myself B.E. (before employees) I ran a Chimney Sweeping business. In fact I still have the equipment and all the forms that can be used as almost a turn key operation....hint..hint.

Although I do not do much of the acutual plowing unless one of our trucks goes down or a subcontractor falls through I still find the hours leaving much to be desired. Even though I'm up through the storm working the phone, checking on properties, and doing misc tasks the money is too good to walk away from.

The key is to develop your business to the point that they can manage it themselves with little intervention on your part. Every year it has become less stressful for me.

As far as making ends meet a good starting point might be to re-examine your core business and develop the pricing of those services as well as developing the business volume to the point where your covering 12 months of expenses with 9 months of revenue.

Merry Christmas!

[Pelican]

Pit me down as another who does plowing during the winter.

I also take on interior remodeling during the off season.

[VoodooChile]

We dropped plowing this year, as the low-ballers were making millionaires sqauwk about $75 complete clear-offs, and the equipment abuse and uncertainity weren't worth it.

I'm with Nebraska; make your hay while the sun shines, and enjoy the snow with some bourbon by the fire!!!

And Nebraska, I did a stint as a sweep too, to supplement the fledging landscape business. There is money to be made, but like any small business, I think the comittment needs to be year-round to truly succeed.

[Stonehenge]

Pelican - what kind of work do you take on? I'm considering that as winter income, too, but want it focused on just a few items I think we can do well with.

[Pelican]

I've done a number of bathrooms, this seems to be the room most often remodeled. You can really turn one around too, from being a small dingy room to one that's bright and inviting just by working with the space available. Brighter paint and fixtures will work wonders.

I'm fortunate in that there are no licensing requirements in my area at present. It sounds as though this may change soon though, an electrician's license is in the works for our County. I do all the work myself including electrical and plumbing, but it won't be worth getting the electrician's license for the amount I do.

I've also remodeled a full basement, a kitchen, installed tile,and built a number of decks. Through the winter months I'll pretty much take any work that comes along to keep busy.

[zak]

Folks,

Thanks for the replies from all of you, I appreciate all of the honesty and recommendations on how to maintain a stable income besides plowing for the winter months.

Nebraska, thanks for the pointers I will work on it. I will tell you one thing that we have only been plowing (subcontracting) now for two years and I have increased profits by 50% from last year by increasing salting projects.


Chad

[bcx400]

I convinced a customer to let me tackle their basement finishing project this winter. The moving of plumbing and duct work have been sub-contracted. We have installed rigid styrofoam insulation on the walls, and will be building 2 x4 walls, followed by drywall over the walls and ceiling. Electrical will also be sub-contracted.

It is a pleasure to work inside when the outside temp is 16 degrees!

[Nebraska]

I'm convinced it's got to be two fold. You can only price so high before you're out of the market so as such the volume must be there for the rest. This year we depend upon 4 events to get us through the winter. Once you get out of being a subcontractor and develop it to the point where you're hiring subcontractors you will feel some relief.

I'm seeing a little of what VoodooChile alludes to as far as lowballers and clients willing to drop you and switch for a few bucks. This year we ended up loosing 9 good sized lots simply based upon price. Last year we had more snow than in 25 years. Came out to be 75% more snow. These properties felt they spent too much money.. but no complaints about the work done. After that eye opening experience coupled with the fact that everyone owns a plow my attitude towards snow has developed into "here's the price, take it or leave it."

I feel as if you can talk yourself blue in the face regarding the importance of snow removal for a business, the majority treat it as a commodity...same with mowing (which I'll start a thread on in the near future).

[MarkH]

Working municipal I work year round, but alot of the companies here keep guys on by plowing, tree clearing projects( buckthorn), prairie seeding, and tree pruning projects. We alos do prescribed burning as long as its not to cold.

[Nebraska]

.....4 events.... huh?

Well here we are Mid-February. To date three events total! Last weekend we had 1.5 inches of RAIN! This weekend we are looking at more RAIN! This is nuts! This is February and it's supposed to be our snowiest month. Our first snow did not occur until January "3ish" and was 14 inches. Our second snow was 1.5 inches on 2/7 and the third was 2.5 inches on 2/9.

Last year was our best winter to date....this year is panning out to be the worst winter to date.

The quandary exists where I'm not a fan of snow but I'm also not a fan of this little amount of snow activity...

You can only prepare for the upcoming season so much before you start going nuts.

[cutntrim]

Different customers have different terms, but on average we've salted most places 14 times and plowed 8, so far...

Been fairly quiet recently...

[Nebraska]

Is 14 and 8 normal for you? That's about normal for an entire winter for us.

[cutntrim]

Yeah pretty normal so far, maybe a few more salt apps than some previous winters. It all evens out, as you know, from year-to-year.